All you 1%ers care about is your precious
money
All you 1%ers care about is your precious
money
For anyone who doesn't feel like reading all that, this is equally coherent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ_fO8BSPZo
I guess he doesn't realize that the prize money aids the teams to making their budgets to the next events.
The good guys
I'd like to make it clear that:
Steve P. at Goodyear
Richard C. at Rill-tech
have provided me with all awards earned.
The good guys in this whole thing should be commended for their integrity.
Last edited by Revs2-12k; 09.14.12 at 2:49 PM.
My guess is that Jon Lewis is trying to do damage control since he figured out that all of this stuff was out there for anyone with google and an internet connection.
Some of my thoughts on what he wrote:
1. He tried to start a series for F1000 while knowing nothing about the class, the cars or the people running the class. I know that he had a first gen Stohr and might have run a regional or two with it, but that doesn't mean he knew about the class, cars or people. That probably should have been a warning to us.
2. I first met Jon Lewis at the July 2011 Road Atlanta regional where I was running my FC and he was running RC Enerson in Jon's first gen Stohr on the test day. I asked him who the financial backers were and if the money was a guaranteed thing. He gave the same elusive answer about it being "two people who had supported him in the past." I asked if that meant Amerisuites and he smiled and nodded. It still sounds like there never was a deal and never truly any financial backers.
NB- Also at this event I asked Jon Lewis if he intended to rent out the car that he owned to anyone to run in the series and he said that he would not be running anyone in the series as it would not be fair and he wanted to devote all of his energy to the series.
3. Did he really believe that he was going to get someone to cough up $150k for 15 old guys driving around? That was the ROI that he was promising to these guys? Clearly there was no back up plan for any of this.
4. I don't think there is any question that the Mosport event was a "premiere event." There were a lot of spectators and Canadian Nascar probably counts as a big deal. I don't see how he could ever have considered NARRA to be a premiere event and he scheduled two of those events. I believe there may have been 5 spectators.
5. There is no question that the races went off fine. SCCA Pro knows how to run a race and they made sure that everything happened. Jon Lewis didn't even show up until the morning of the NJMP race. They had trouble with the motorhome they were using to tow Verra's car up there and had to drive all night in the series' Suzuki car to get there. Everyone managed to figure out load-in all on their own.
Before the Mosport event we were stuck in terrible Toronto traffic and held up for hours. We were very concerned about whether or not the track was going to close and not allow us entry to set up the day before. We continually tried to call Jon Lewis and he had turned his phone off to avoid the Canadian roaming expenses. We finally got in touch with a friend at the track for another series there and he was able to confirm that we would be able to get in. Let's not act like Jon Lewis was really there for the teams at these events.
6. Trading a controlling ownership in the series for $20k would have been a great deal. The series wasn't worth anything. No series is going to be worth much more than the value of the hard assets they hold and a tiny bit for good will. A series as new as the F1KCS is not going to have built up any good will at all. Now there is no F1000 Championship Series and no one but Jon Lewis has any money.
7. I think that everyone was supremely patient before anything negative ever showed up on Apexspeed. Before the series even started there were warning signs about his business dealings with people. I will leave it up to them to decide if they want to post the issues they had.
8. Yes, the competitors started "boycotting" the series. While Jon Lewis was taking in people's money, the rest of us were spending it to get to his races. Knowing we weren't going to get paid completely changed the math on whether or not to make the long tows.
Here is the email we were sent before the New Jersey event:
The check was certainly not deposited but this was right before we needed to leave for NJMP, so we had to take your word for it. We were being lied to and you expected us to keep showing up for more lies?Originally Posted by Jon Lewis
9. Jon Lewis forgot to mention that he was banned from Apexspeed for having multiple user accounts and using them to shill for himself and his series. I never found out who the 5th user account was, someone feel free to PM that information to me.
10.
This is by far the worst part of the whole thing and worthy of being quoted again.During this time, only two teams even contacted me to see what they could do to help the Series. None of the other teams even tried. So much for the F1000 fellowship that they all talk about. What they fail to remember is that they had two great events that were well run at the beginning of this season. All they care about is their precious prize money and tow fund. What would have happened if I accepted the one payment from our backers? Who would get the money? The competitors, who would only receive the prize money from Mosport and not the tow fund or prize money from New Jersey and have no Series to run in? What about all the other people owed their money? If the Series shutdown, all of them would be out what is rightly owed to them. This is not the way we do business. So we forged on to try and get everyone paid.
-He wants the teams to pitch in and figure out how to help the series? We did that. We showed up to the races, paid our entry fees to Jon Lewis, and kept our mouths shut about getting screwed for months. Jon Lewis is the only person involved in this who did not hold up his end of the bargain. I don't even understand what he wanted us to do? We all have jobs and responsibilities outside of racing. Between work and racing things, I just don't have the time to help prop up someone else's business so that they can make money.
- "All they care about is their precious prize money and tow fund" Words fail me. Just damn.
- Receiving the prize money from Mosport would have been better than the nothing we have received.
11. Jon Lewis is being portrayed as the bad guy because he is the bad guy. His string of lies and bad checks has made everything harder for any small bore formula series in the future. As much as he writes "it's my fault," he sure doesn't act like he believes that any of this is his fault.
12. "I’m pretty disappointed with the Formula 1000 community in general" Wow. Regardless of what I think of the class, the F1000 community is full of some great people who will bend over backwards to help anyone that they can. I watched one competitor get treated like the series' parts warehouse because he showed up with adequate spares and extensive knowledge about these cars and he did it with a smile because he wanted to help people. I seriously cannot imagine what he expected the F1000 community to do that would have made him happy? Keep throwing good money after bad? Not point out the constant string of lies?
13. Jon Lewis, you did not get screwed in this. You are the only person involved in this entire thing who took in any money at all.
14. Maybe this entire thing will put a stop to your 25 years in the business. It certainly needs to stop.
15. I want to do a quick look at the cash that flowed in to the series and the cash that flowed out.
In:
Series entry fees(the ~$1k that people paid to join the series, which including one event entry fee): I would guess at least 10 people paid this and maybe more, but let's be conservative and call it $10k.
Race entry fees: Let's assume a total of 12 since people did use their series entry to pay for at least one event. I think the entry fees for Mosport and NJMP were $1200. $14.4k is a conservative estimate
Sponsorship from Hooters for Mosport: I have no idea how much this was. I know that Jon Lewis was asking for $10k for events but I doubt that he got that.
Car rental to R.V.: no idea.
Out:
part of George's plane ticket to NJMP
gas to drive to events
shirts for staff
some money for car transport to Mosport
what am I forgetting?
Where is the rest of the money? Working "without pay" is a stretch.
I know of a lot of people who did not get paid, but I don't know of a single person/entity who did get paid.
16. All thoughts are mine and mine only.
17. I am worried about how Jon Lewis is going to get me my "Mechanic Of The Year" watch.
18. Where is the money from Sunoco? All references to Sunoco have disappeared from the web page but the press releases are still out there on other sites. I am concerned that Sunoco sent a check to Jon Lewis in the beginning and he was responsible for distributing the money. Does anyone know how that sort of thing usually works?
Last edited by Wren; 09.14.12 at 3:41 PM.
15.
Out:
Salary
Executive Bonus
Dividends
It would be interesting to see what he (the business) says it has for current liabilities on his end of year accounting forms.
Guys, this is a huge misunderstanding, it turns out. I saw the P&L, and he struggled to break even.
The one thing I can't back apexspeed on is banning him. I think it was wrong and not the right thing to do. We have lost all comic value with this rash move. We now only have Josh and Wren to entertain us (sometimes Coop)? This will be the last time I sign in until I sign in again.
Well, if you'd like some more entertainment, go here:
http://www.sunbiz.org/corioff.html
I suggest "lewis jon" as a search term. Many pages of results. The interesting ones are under "Jon Lewis," "Jonathan Lewis," "Jonathan N Lewis," and "Jon N Lewis." Many familiar-sounding entity names. Many different entities with similar names. Some active, some dissolved.
Joy, Love, and Peace LLC. Is a classic.
Ken
That's funny, but I don't think that is the same Jon Lewis. I think it is time that other people start to share their bad experiences with Jon Lewis. There were some serious integrity problems with Jon that started well before the F1KCS problems. People need to see how Jon Lewis and American Spirit Racing do business.
Most people involved with F1000 know my story, particularly if they called or wrote me due to contact with another F1000 competitor. I generally havent posted much about it primarily due to a veiled threat from another party about libel and slander and all those good things. But I have saved all contracts, emails and even phone calls as Texas is a 1 party state. Anywho....
Essentially a contract was written for a lease with an option to buy for a racecar. The contract was pretty specific about timing, money, and things the leasee could and could not do to the said vehicle without written permission. Many of those conditions including modification, payment, and such were not met. After a significant amount of time (to my standards- months) after payment was missed according to the contract, I find that my leased car had been sold to another party months before, but the money is nowhere to be found. The car was actually sold before the final payment was due. Not a cool phone call!!! Weeks go by and checks are received. Checks bounce and time goes by. Then using the Florida worthless check statute, I file with the State of Florida and start the process for legal proceedings. Just after the deadline, I receive the money I am owed plus penalties defined by the statute.
The postive result of getting paid was good. The negative of having to fight for it for months (daily) was not. THe fact that I was told story upon story upon story was the most frustrating dealings I have ever experienced; and I work with attorneys for a living.Present company excluded.
Ken
What a wonderful experience that must have been.
Most people involved with F1000 know my story, particularly if they called or wrote me due to contact with another F1000 competitor. I generally havent posted much about it primarily due to a veiled threat from another party about libel and slander and all those good things. But I have saved all contracts, emails and even phone calls as Texas is a 1 party state. Anywho....
Essentially a contract was written for a lease with an option to buy for a racecar. The contract was pretty specific about timing, money, and things the leasee could and could not do to the said vehicle without written permission. Many of those conditions including modification, payment, and such were not met. After a significant amount of time (to my standards- months) after payment was missed according to the contract, I find that my leased car had been sold to another party months before, but the money is nowhere to be found. The car was actually sold before the final payment was due. Not a cool phone call!!! Weeks go by and checks are received. Checks bounce and time goes by. Then using the Florida worthless check statute, I file with the State of Florida and start the process for legal proceedings. Just after the deadline, I receive the money I am owed plus penalties defined by the statute.
The postive result of getting paid was good. The negative of having to fight for it for months (daily) was not. THe fact that I was told story upon story upon story was the most frustrating dealings I have ever experienced; and I work with attorneys for a living.
I just hit the highlights. The specifics are incredible. Perhaps over a beer in a paddock somewhere. I think I am going to rent next time.
Ken
If those checks came by mail, there might have been a chance of getting a DA to file federal mail fraud charges - the lawyers here can chime in on whether or not that is a possibility. Unfortunately, this particular case is probably way too small for the feds to want to bother with.
I believe some lawyer(s) on here may have something to do with how he got any money at all....
Ken,
Thanks for sharing. Some of the lies that Jon Lewis told during that mess are funny enough that you should share them with the group.
I know there are more people who had trouble with Jon related to car rentals and leasing before the F1KCS even started. It would be good for them to share their stories also. People need to know what they are getting with Jon Lewis and American Spirit Racing.
For the record, I don't believe that the F1KCS or any of these other messes that Jon Lewis has been involved in started as scams. Jon seems to overextend himself greatly with a belief that everything is going to work out. I guess he thought that he was going to get someone to cough up $60k to rent that car from him. When that didn't work out he just made sure that Ken had the worst of the deal. He probably also believed that someone was going to pay $150k to be a title sponsor for the series. When that didn't happen, he made sure that he got his and didn't worry about anyone else.
I was starting to think maybe Jon Lewis wasn't too bad of a guy, but then he deleted the Wren-bashing thread from his forum. Oh well.
I'm glad to hear you got paid Ken.
Having to "tight-hole" that info while the series promoting continued must have been tough.
I'm glad I decided to pass on renting the Stohr while it was in his clutches.
Rick Kean
I know. I felt special for a minute.
Don't forget:
Rick, it was likely already sold.
I talked to a person who has been around motorsport longer than I who said this type of thing rarely happens between club guys but happens more than you would think at the pro level. Makes you appreciate the good people you deal with at the club level. People I have h a d nothing but good experiences include people like Mike at HRP, Wayne at Stohr, George Dean, Joe Stimola, and the Vogeley brothers at 10 tenths just to name a few.
Ken
You're so right!Rick, it was likely already sold.
I talked to a person who has been around motorsport longer than I who said this type of thing rarely happens between club guys but happens more than you would think at the pro level. Makes you appreciate the good people you deal with at the club level. People I have h a d nothing but good experiences include people like Mike at HRP, Wayne at Stohr, George Dean, Joe Stimola, and the Vogeley brothers at 10 tenths just to name a few.
i was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a while, but his posts on his forum killed any chance of that continuing.
I wonder if he will ever come to realize in how bad taste his 'explanation" is, and how much it will hurt him if future potential business partners ever see it.
any chance we can all see Wren's post??
Cheers
Len
Porsche River Oaks. Houston
Len,
Check your email.
No fair...
mike
i only got JL's post.. hoping for Wren's response
i feel bad for you guys that all had dealing with this fool... makes me appretiate F2k F1600 even more
thanks
len
Cheers
Len
Porsche River Oaks. Houston
It wasn't that interesting. He pointed out that I screwed up the copy and paste of his crazy ramblings as I had gotten page 4 twice and missed page 5. He said something about how I didn't know what I was talking about and was supposing things but gave no specific examples. It was, at best, barely coherent. I think the spelling may have been correct, which is a big step up for him.
I didn't post a response to him. I'm not that worried about what he is saying about me or what he thinks about me. I don't think there is one person who will believe his bs. If there is someone who believes him, then I certainly don't care about them. The man has lied non-stop since this whole thing started. I didn't even reference it here to avoid driving any traffic to his site.
Ultimately I would like for the information to be out there for anyone who googles "american spirit racing" or "Jon Lewis" and anything to do with racing will be able to get the information they need to know what a con-man this guy is. If this kind of information had been out there before the F1KCS had started then we would have all been saved a lot of time and effort. It's time for him to find a new career.
Then and now
Wren and other F1000 owner/drivers:
Be advised that Jon Lewis had every intent to secure an F1000 race car, rent it out, and have his own driver for the series. In approximately late Sept 2011 after the death of Dan Wheldon, my wife put lots of pressure on me to give up racing as she was quite fearful of the sport. After consideration and age I decided to list my F1K07 Phoenix here on ApexSpeed. In Feb 2012, I received a phone call from Jon Lewis proposing to lease my car for $20,000 with the idea that he would rent out the car for the 2012 F1000 Championship Series. At that time there were a few ads here on ApexSpeed advertising rentals for the series in upwards of $65,000 for an F1000 car, on-track assisitance, transport to the track, tires etc. Jon stated that he would lease the car, send the $20,000 to me and have the car picked up here in Las Cruces, NM and transported to North Carolina. While I did not like the conversation, I asked Jon if he had a contract and he stated he would email the contract to me. Once received and reviewed there would have been very little to no recourse if a default of payment would have been made, or the car would have been wrecked. He stated that he would return the car after the series in the same conditon it was in prior to the lease agreement. Let it be known that my F1K07 Phoenix was in mint showroom condition. Once I reviewed the contract in which I had no recourse of claims, I decided NOT to lease the car to Jon Lewis. There was something from the conversation and contract that told me and alerted me within, NOT to enter into any agreement with the promoter.
While hindsight is 20/20, I am certainly pleased that I did not enter into any agreements, as verbal promises made where never appearent in any contact, and any subsequent litigation would have had to take place in North Carolina, under North Carolina law. So it was Jon's intent to have his own entry in the Series, with my car, and charge lots of money for the rental.
In hindsight, I cannot see how any one person or race team could suport any event that he is involved in (Daytona etc). I would also suggest that any F1000 owner/driver boycott any events that is related to this person in regards to F1000 events remaining this year. There is no reason to support this person.
My F1000 was subsequently sold and transported directly to Virginia International Raceway in March 2012.
I have enjoyed the F1000 class so much, and miss owning the car. But, I was getting too old, and it was a 2 person race team, myself and my wife, and she just couldn't bear any thought of getting hurt in the car.
I am however here to support the F1000 Class and it's owner/drivers in 2012 and 2013. I am a "cash" sponsor of this weeks 2012 SCCA F1000 Championship put together by Mike B, who has lots of integrity and respect within the F1000 community, unlike Jon Lewis.
This is my story involving the F1000 Champ Series promoter. Perhaps there are other stories and events that we have not heard.
So, Wren here you go, another episode with the promoter for your diary. Keep up the good work. You could make a very good investigator Wren. Best to you, Brandon and all the other F1000 racers at this years 2012 SCCA Runoffs Championship. I am glad to play a small role in the awards.
I know for one thing, as a sponsor, my money has been sent, and it will get paid out to one lucky F1000 owner/driver.
Best reagrds,
Richard Dziak
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Former Phoenix F1K-07 F1000 #77 owner/driver
website: http://www.formularacingltd.com
email: sonewmexico@gmail.com
So just out of curiosity what were his alias'? I always suspected there were a few.
I never figured out #5 either.
For the record, I had found SEVEN different user accounts attributed to his IPs and various Gmail e-mail addresses, including 2 posing as someone else who has admittedly never been on ApexSpeed before.I never figured out #5 either.
All of his past IP addresses have been blocked, and all of his accounts have been banned, yet somehow Jon is still able to read this thread and send me e-mails complaining about how he is being portrayed here (as if I have something to do with public opinion). As a banned user, you cannot view anything on the forums at all, so he is still viewing as a logged in user somewhere. The deceptiveness and paranoia continues...
That is akin to a Great White complaining to Discovery Channel that Shark Week is portraying him negatively as a brutal killing machine because they aired video of him preying on seals. The facts portray what they portray.
Think of the page views you'd get if we had high speed video of Jon bouncing checks at 7500 fps, though.
Doug
A banned user may not be able to read content on the BBS but a visitor (not logged in) has read access.All of his past IP addresses have been blocked, and all of his accounts have been banned, yet somehow Jon is still able to read this thread and send me e-mails complaining about how he is being portrayed here (as if I have something to do with public opinion). As a banned user, you cannot view anything on the forums at all, so he is still viewing as a logged in user somewhere. The deceptiveness and paranoia continues...
Terry
He wants facts? I have 43 Hundred of them
Area 81 Racing Car # 81 F1000 Participation
Mosport - Hooters F1000 GP of Canada
$ 400.00 Tow Fund (906 Miles via MapQuest)
$ 200.00 9th Place finish
$ 450.00 6th Place finish
$ 950.00 OWED For Rounds 1 & 2
NJMP – F1000 GP of New Jersey
$400.00 Tow Fund (523 Miles via Mapquest)
$ 350.00 7th Place finish
$ 2500.00 2nd Place finish
$ 3,350.00 OWED for Rounds 3 & 4
TOTAL $ 4300.00 OWED FROM F1000 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES INC.
Non-Cash Awards
2 - Goodyear Tire Voucher Value $ 500.00 Voucher Rec'd/Awards Rec’d
Rilltech Hard Charger $ 100.00 + Voucher Rec’d. Award Rec’d.
Chicken Hawk Racing $ 150.00 Credit due toward Tire Warmers for 2nd place. E-Mailed results to Dave@ Chickenhawk on 6/11/12
My Teammate & I will be participating in the VIR Goblins Go on Oct 20-21st if Jon shows up or not. NC is our home SCCA Region, so we would'nt miss it for any reason.
Jon, I look forward to seeing you in the paddock, CASH IN HAND of course.
I used to get PMs awhile back during the whole process defending Jon and saying he was a good guy. Even though I wasnt bashing him. I never thought it was a real person. Kind of like the times I would call him to talk about the money and he would say, "Jon's not home, this is his brother." Psst. It wasnt his brother....it was him. If it wasn't so frustrating it would be hilarious.
Ken
Ken, I noticed your nice comment about the Vogeley's. I'll be at Craig and Michele's home this weekend for their son's first B Day party! They live local to me now and see them often. Hoping they'll come to some races when Lleyton is a little older. 10/Tenths was great! I'm lucky to be racing with Hannu now who now has learned more about the Stohr cars than just about anyone I know. He is also fantastic.
Anyway, I'll tell the Vog's you send your regards and still think of them. They will appreciate it.
Bill
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